Dear Colleagues,
This morning, we learned that the Washington State Supreme Court has upheld the trial court ruling in McCleary v. State, which determined unequivocally that the state is not fulfilling its constitutional paramount duty to provide ample funding for public education.
As you know, Vancouver Public Schools was the first district in Southwest Washington to join the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools in taking legal action against the state. The Vancouver school board members and I could not be more pleased with the results.
We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Judge Erlick’s ruling that:
- Paramount means “preeminent, supreme, and more important than all others.”
- “State funding is not ample, it is not stable, and it is not dependable.”
- “Without funding, reform legislation for basic education may be an empty promise.”
Although today marks a great achievement for the children and families of Vancouver Public Schools and Washington State, the court’s ruling does not require the legislature to have a fiscal solution in place until 2018.
The students in our classrooms cannot wait any longer for the support they deserve. Elected officials in Olympia should do the right thing for kids—right now.
Welcome back and happy new year!
